Spurned Lotte’s eldest son sues exec

SEOUL (The Korea Herald/ANN) - Shin Dong-joo, the eldest son of Lotte Group Founder Shin Kyuk-ho, wages a sideline attack against his younger brother as part of a long-running sibling power struggle.

Shin Dong-joo, the spurned eldest son of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho on Thursday said he has sued an executive of Lotte Japan.

Shin Dong-joo, currently the head of SDC Corp., held a press conference at Peninsula Hotel in Tokyo to announce that he has filed a damage suit against Takayaki Sukuda.

Dong-joo said the executive had fed his father false or exaggerated facts about him to sully his reputation and ultimately cost him his job.

“I cannot say the exact amount, but the suit was filed to cover the damages I suffered including unpaid wages, severance pay and others,” said Dong-joo.

He also said he must be reinstated in order for Lotte to “get back on track.”

“The values that Lotte pursues, such as trust and loyalty, can be restored only by my reinstatement,” he said.

Responding to questions about his relationship with his father, Dong-joo said they had not had a chance to talk things over.

Dong-joo is the eldest son of the Lotte founder. As head of Lotte Japan, which owns Lotte Korea, he was expected to take over the 90-trillion-won (US$79.5 billion) Lotte empire.

But earlier this year, he was ousted from his management position amid rumours about falling out with his father, who was later sacked as chairman of Lotte Holdings in Japan by his younger son Dong-bin, who heads Lotte in Korea.